[quote name='StauntonLick' timestamp='1327700474' post='4906861']
2) Monitors - I'm personally not 100% convinced that you need to go overboard on these. I use fairly cheap Edirol MA-7As, and my stuff seems to sound OK!

Have you ever mixed on really good speakers? You'll be surprised at the difference.
To be frank, I honestly don't know how you can work with the Edirols effectively, must be a lot of guesswork under 150 Hz. I am absolutely conviced that it's impossible to mix any real "oomph" and depth so it still sounds like "oomph" on the player's sound system without a proper monitoring situation. No offense!
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I think you're probably right - unfortunately in my current situation I have a lot of other considerations aside from professional that affect my workspace. In an ideal world I'd be 100% behind you, but I think I'm probably closer to Kevin on this one in that my setup has to respond to my environment. Just have to make the best out of what I have!

I would say, on a tight budget, start with the most basic versions of the four things above. As you save up, sell them off and buy bigger shinier ones.

I'll have to disagree with this too. You'll end up spending a lot more money that way. Better take your time to save up and then purchase something you won't have to sell at a loss and which will really push your producing environment to a new level, like Nathan suggested.
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I can see both sides of this. Yes you'd spend more over the long run, but on the other hand you'd have something to get started with. By saving up you're delaying even beginning by however long it takes you to save up for the gear you want. I guess it depends whether you're able to wait a little while and start off with more high-end gear, or get cracking right now with the basics while you build up your skill level.

Well, the most important thing is your creativity. The Software and hardware are just tools. Just listen to chris hülsbeck's amiga classics or any 80-early 90s tracks for that matter. Those tracks were composed on an extreme low budget but still stand out today.

If you're going for portability your main concerns should be robustness, nothing worse than moving to a different place and finding out half your stuff is broken.
The Akai MPK seems to be a pretty neat start. I have the LPD8 myself. Once you evolve your playing style however you may want to invest in a full size keyboard controller.

May I ask what headphones do you have? I know it's all a matter of taste but I have these http://www.headphones.com/Headphones/Audio-Technica-AUDIO-TECHNICA-ATH-M50S-PROFESSIONAL-STEREO-MONITOR-HEADPHONE-ATH-M50s-59517.html and if you want closed cans and are on a budget they are hard to beat in their price range.

I have worked with reason and it's a pretty cool piece of software, however I think it is more suited to the ones who like to tweak knobs and are not afraid to spend endless time creating their own unique sounds out of the sysths. Reason itself lacks any kind of plugin support but you can route its output to many DAWs via the ReWire protocol.

I can also recommend http://reaper.fm/ it's a full fledged multi track recording/mixing suite in the style of logic, cubase etc. and comes at a price tag of 225$ or even 60$ if you're a starter. The 30 day demo version is unrestricted, so check it out.

Okay, let me just list my specs then. It's really nothing fancy, so no judging.

PC: 2 year old ThinkPad - 64 bit Operating System, 2.20 Ghz Dual-Core, 4GB RAM
Headphones: Senheiser HD202
Audio Interface: Focusrite Saffire 6 USB
MIDI: Korg Micro Key (Had the AKAI MPK 25, but the drums aren't great and the keys are too limiting. Rather get the Micro Key and Kontroller)
Guitar: Ibanez ART120
Guitar Modulator: Pandora Mini (I do all my recording line-in)

Its not the greatest, but I know talent and skill trumps gadgets, so I'm trying to just focus on what I have rather than what I don't at this point. My next purchase will be a Mac to do all my recording on. I also use the Guitar Pro MIDI method. Find it really helps for getting the general idea across.

Anybody have any recommendations for me? Or am I on track?

Getting a mac? on a tight budget? hm...

Getting a mac? on a tight budget? hm...

Haha agreed - I had an iMac for about 3 weeks before it went back to the shop. Couldn't get on with it. Built a supercomputer from PCSpecialist instead for about half the price. (Although lets try not to get into Mac vs. PC right now!)

If you've got the money to spend on a Mac, maybe it's worth putting some of that aside for monitors and getting a cheaper PC? You can still get a heck of a machine for the price of your standard iMac.

It just seems many people suggest Mac for any creative stuff. Also, the place I want to study at uses Mac exclusively, so I thought it would be worth learning. And it is tight at the moment, but that is my intention for my next purchase in the long run. Also, I'm quite keen to learn Logic, and heard that it was proprietary software for Mac. I'm glad I'm getting this input, just want everybody's opinions. I know there is a long debate between Mac and PC, it just seems that Mac would be better at handling sound and the Adobe Creative Suite.

I use http://sonic-core.net hardware and software and I can create wonderful things. You have to invest some money, but it's rewarding.

I know there is a long debate between Mac and PC, it just seems that Mac would be better at handling sound and the Adobe Creative Suite.

Just to clarify - a Mac is no better at handling sound than a PC, nor vice versa. I'm not entirely sure where the fallacy of Macs being better for creative stuff came from, but I've a feeling it's just a cultural thing - people who are creative like their systems to look and feel creative, if you know what I mean. Macs definitely have the design going for them, which is important for some people. However, inside the box it's all the same stuff, so there's no way for one to be better than the other for audio.

If you're comfortable with Macs already then go for one - like I said before, anything to reduce the technological barrier between you and your music.